psychology

Micro Review: Wildly descriptive and hot as hell, this collection of seven stories simmers with heat as we delve into the minds of seven souls looking for sensual release.

Description: A big machine kink and sharp teeth cravings, a celebratory threesome, a bartender with specific urges, and a wife who likes to share her husband as an appetizer. Roll yourself a lucky number seven with this new collection by Sommer Marsden.

This short anthology comes after the success of Lucky Streak, the follow-up book to the original anthology Lucky 13—#9 in Violet Blue’s Ten Hottest Sex Books of 2009. It’s bursting at the seams with neon colored characters and their tempting tales. From the darkly erotic The Scent of Her to the kinky Big Machines to the romantic Finger Bang. Take a chance and treat yourself to these seven sexy stories.

Katie Boyd has nothing in common with Tom Bridge, the volunteer doctor she meets at a party – except in bed she finds a passion to match her own. Tom is intense, puzzling, a man who cares about others and compels Katie to question her own life drifting through the hip clubs and London party scene.
When Tom returns to his post in a Sri Lanka orphanage, Katie isn’t sure if their passion was lit by its brevity, or if love, unexpected and not entirely wanted, has edged its way into her life. Should she go back to being who she always was? Or follow Tom into the unknown?
Katie in Love is a compelling contemporary romance that will grip readers as they follow Katie’s journey to an ending they may have expected – but not in the way they expected it. Brilliantly written and coolly self-aware, Chloe Thurlow was described by KM Dylan on Amazon as “…the Anaïs Nin of our times.” With Katie in Love – her sixth novel – Thurlow reveals a writer at the height of her powers.

A volume of literary erotica centered around the possibilities of sexual negotiation.

Twenty complex, surprising, intense, and relatable stories from a spectrum of new and established writers explore something unusual in erotic fiction: someone saying no. Submissives—and dominants—safeword out of a BDSM scene. Couples (and one threesome!) discover the possibilities and boundaries of their new relationships. Past trauma rears its head. Personal preferences clash.

Between the Shores shows respect for the boundaries people set as an integral part of sex, and highlights trust, communication—and mutual pleasure.

Some call a halt to the action. Some proceed with care and caution. Some bare secrets to their partners that they’ve never before shared. And some find exciting alternatives. Through negotiation—whether serious or accompanied by laughter—they move beyond their “no” to reach what they truly desire: healing, growth, and fulfillment both sexual and otherwise.

Sometimes, the truest tales are about what ‘almost’ happened; not what was, but what just as easily might have been. The would’ves, the should’ves, the could’ves, the haunting maybes and the melancholy might-haves are the fertile soil in which the most powerful and affecting fiction takes root. Then too, sometimes, the most intriguing stories leave a bit of mystery beyond the margins—small enigmas for the reader to ponder hours and days after the book has been closed. Sometimes, the shortest stories are the ones that stay with us the longest.

The fifty very-short pieces in this collection of mature literary fiction range from as many as 4,000 to as few as 50 words. The purpose of these stories is not necessarily to arouse, but rather to explore various aspects of the human condition through the lens of the erotic in a way that is both enlightening and entertaining.

There are brief vignettes—entire worlds conjured up within the space of an eye-blink—alongside more conventionally expansive narratives. There are a number of stories about the erotic dimensions of ‘disability,’ particularly visual impairment. There are pan-sexual celebrations—the hetero- and homoerotic along with the intentionally ambivalent. There are richly atmospheric scene-settings, effusive literary evocations, and casual pop-culture-inspired dialogues; orneriness and ecstasy, contemporary vulgarity and timeless transcendence standing cheek by jowl, low comedy, erotic horror and lambent exultation comfortably sharing the same space, breathing the same air, seeking the same truth.

In the tradition of Georges Bataille, Kathy Acker, and Jean Genet, these 26 erotic encounters combine to form a highly charged alphabet on the pursuit of pleasure and possibilities of language. A nameless man graphically details his experiences as he cruises from parks to sex clubs in a relentless pursuit of pleasure and sexual gratification. Powerfully staging these anonymous encounters and describing each with luminous intensity, he continually tests the boundaries of sex, desire, and the body until he is faced with the ultimate challenge: to capture adequately in words the physical sensations he experiences.

Inspired by Eastern European and Russian superstitions and folklore, here are twelve tales; darkly delicious imaginings for the adult connoisseur of bedtime stories. Be drawn into a world where the boundaries between the everyday and the unearthly are snakeskin-thin, where the trees have eyes and the night has talons, where demons, drawn by the perfume of human vice and wickedness, lurk with intents malicious and capricious. Tread carefully, for here the dark things best left behind in the forest may seep under your door and sup with you; the lover at your window or in your bed may have the scent of your death already on their breath.

“We are the shiver on your uneasy flesh,
The creep of the unknown on your skin.”

Whispered to you from the edges, from the haunted mouths of those who see more than you or I, here are twelve tales of lust and rivalry, of envy and deceit, and of secrets gouged from the darkest depths of the human heart.

Strange! Electrifying! Sexy! Eldritch? Explore the new and exciting world of Lovecraft-based erotica in Whispers in Darkness, a new collection from Circlet Press. This cyclopean collection features eight new stories, each filled to the brim with insanity-inducing, orgasm-producing goodness.

Have you always wondered what one of those Cthulhu-cult orgies would look like from the inside? Do you crave intellectual tentacle porn? Have you always felt that the only thing Lovecraft was missing was a really, really good lay now and again? If so, this book was made for you. Don’t deny your curiosity! Just beware: what one has seen (and been aroused by) cannot be unseen…

In a steampunk society where sex is ritualized and marriage is sacred, the slightest misstep can bring your world tumbling down. In this collection, Peter Tupper explores the many facets of a time that never was, and a society that is all too familiar. Rich in eroticism, and immersive in its detail, The Innocent’s Progress and Other Stories is a sterling example of what steampunk can be.

In an unnamed place, in a time that never was, sex is elevated as high as ritual, and can be had for the price of a theater ticket. In The Innocent’s Progress and Other Stories, Peter Tupper explores the many facets of a complicated, sensual, and, in many ways, rigidly conservative society. Here, we are given passes to a theater of fantasies; we are allowed into the labyrinthine world of steam-powered workhouses; and we are given glimpses into the minds and mettle of the kind of people who survive in such a world.

Previously unpublished erotica by Anais Nin. After remaining hidden for more than 65 years, the story “Life in Provincetown” and the original, unedited version of “Marcel” were discovered after five copies were illegally printed in 1950 and sold to private collectors. Prime Nin erotica in its original form.

Ten years ago, Alex Baine fell in love with Linnea Marr, a struggling young artist in a doomed BDSM relationship. Now he’s a very different man–rich, powerful, and someone who knows what he wants– and when he he meets her again, he knows he wants her. But Linnea has changed, too: a successful sculptor, strong-willed, and solitary.

He kidnaps her and takes her to his remote mountain home, but taming her is more difficult — and satisfying — than he ever imagined. As Alex and Linnea battle their way through pain and desire, the war between their bodies transmutes into something even more dangerous. Elegant, brutal, passionate, romantic, Constraint is a dark love story for the ages.

In Leone Ross’s luminous short stories – ranging from richly extended stories to intense pieces of flash fiction, set between Jamaica and Britain – anything can happen. A richly varied, witty and entertaining collection whose frankness may sometimes tickle, sometimes shock; but always engages the intellect and the heart.

Lord McCaulay falls under the enchantment of Mademoiselle Noire. Humiliated by her before his peers, he becomes intent on revenge, but is drawn only further into her web, entering a dark spiral of obsession.

Meanwhile, by day, Lord McCaulay’s path intersects that of young aristocrat Maud, as she struggles to assert her identity against the domination of men.

‘We live in the wondrous here and now and it is here that our flesh must take its pleasure. Your body is yours and yours alone, but not for long, and never long enough.’

In rural Italy, a priest keeps a dark secret beneath his chapel — a prisoner. Only the elder holy man knows who this prisoner is and even the priest does not know how long he has been there — hundreds of years, perhaps, or even longer. His fear is that anyone in his parish would ever come in contact with his mysterious and unholy charge. But what happens is even worse than he could have imagined. His lovely young daughter, whose innocence and devotion to god he prizes over all else, trails her father into the cavern and catches a glimpse of the prisoner, a beautiful being like the most handsome of men and yet not. She looks in his eyes and sees pain and wisdom and eternity. Unable to keep away from this silent creature chained to an altar stone, she lives in fear that her father will catch her. One day he does and sends her off to America to be raised by her aunt in Boston. But she never forgets her silent love. Cover Him with Darkness is a thrilling story of an archangel banished from heaven and the human woman with whom he falls in love.

Once upon a time, a naughty woman stole a very precious manuscript from a kindly antiquarian. But all of the world’s ancient and powerful magic has returned…and now there is much more at stake than a few sheets of parchment. Thus begins a rude and rugged illustrated fairy tale, the likes of which you NEVER read when you were little!

I’ve always found the concept of books having to fit squarely into set ‘genres’ difficult to stomach – much as I don’t like being reduced to a homogenised category myself. Back in high school I resented the reductionism of ‘oh, she’s a nerdy, brainy, teacher’s-pet type, so she must be hopeless at sport, clumsy as a gazelle in a doll’s house, and about as sophisticated as Elly May Clampett.’

It’s the same with books. Why does fitting in one genre automatically preclude a book from being in any other? Why can’t I read a detective-driven murder mystery written in a thoughtful ‘literary’ style? Why does acceptance into a certain genre mean a book must adhere to all of that genre’s cookie-cutter conventions – and woe if it should fail to meet those requirements – or worse still – step beyond those boundaries!

I understand that purveyors of the written word need some sort of system in order to ‘shelve’ items so each book’s ideal readers can find them – even in a world where the solid mahogany of an heirloom bookshelf has given way to non-tangible ‘virtual shelves’, but surely a book shouldn’t HAVE to fit squarely into just one round hole? Surely a little wriggle room so square pegs can jostle around a little or span several holes of various shapes and sizes, should be able to be accommodated in this PC-conscious, celebration-of-diversity modern world?

Why are books not allowed to be eccentrically-individual complex amalgams? Why can’t a book be both sci-fi and chick lit? Why can’t a book be both literary and cozy mystery? And why on earth is any book that has a romantic central story arc required to adhere to specific ‘beats’? (And if any the genres I’ve quoted truly are mutually exclusive then that just shows how very confused I am about what each genre label means!)

During the course of selecting which books to include on cleverotic.com, it became wonderfully apparent what a varied scope of books are written, even when you just ask for two criteria in a work of prose – that it be clever and that it be erotic! The books here have diverse settings, eras, protagonists, quests, even ‘genres’, yet they still manage to be beautifully, individually cleverotic. And many (if not most) all defy the conventions of their so-called genres.

I love that individuality. I love that these authors have written something truly smart and sexy, even when it doesn’t fit the typical ‘romance’ mould.

As someone who would have been labelled square by my ‘cool’ (which means ‘hip’, you youngsters) high-school peer group, I wish that my square books could be allowed to fit in whatever hole they seem to fit. Books – like we people – can be complex things, but I firmly believe they should be viewed holistically (rather than hole-istically)!

Not everyone wants to read the same old thing. Let’s celebrate our literary diversity with as much pride as we do our genetic diversity, and allow our genres the flexibility to accept new ‘minority refugees’ into their midst.

You’re grown up now and the monsters are real. Only they’re not under your bed…they’re in it.

Ever since his wife, Ava, was taken from him in a brutal car accident, Corvus Deryn has yearned for death. The only thing keeping him from killing himself is the fear of ending up in Hell, without the possibility of seeing his wife again. But this night he is visited by a strange, supernatural entity calling herself Midnight. Part sugary calavera, part porcelain ballerina, she offers Corvus the chance to be reunited with Ava… if he does a job for her first. The job? Come with her to the paranormal city of the dead called Disturbia, become the prime attraction in Midnight’s brothel and pleasure an elite selection of monster women. Only then will Midnight lead the way to Corvus’ wife.

The bargain seems simple enough, but Corvus begins to think Midnight isn’t being entirely truthful. What is she hiding from him? And where, in the twisted spires of Disturbia, could Ava possibly be? THE DISTURBIA RITUAL is an erotic romance drenched in gothic horror and supernatural sex-appeal.

The notorious novel of dark obsession. How far will a woman go to express her love? In this exquisite novel of passion and desire, the answer emerges through a daring exploration of the deepest bonds of sensual domination. “O” is a beautiful Parisian fashion photographer, determined to understand and prove her consuming devotion to her lover, René, through complete submission to his every whim, his every desire.

It is a journey of forbidden, dangerous choices that sweeps her through the secret gardens of the sexual underground. From the inner sanctum of a private club where willing women are schooled in the art of subjugation to the excruciating embraces of René’s friend Sir Stephen, O tests the outermost limits of pleasure. For as O discovers, true freedom lies in her pure and complete willingness to do anything for love.

An extraordinarily rich and exotic collection from the mistress of erotic writing

In Delta of Venus, Anais Nin pens a lush, magical world where the characters of her imagination possess the most universal of desires and exceptional of talents. Among these provocative stories, a Hungarian adventurer seduces wealthy women then vanishes with their money; a veiled woman selects strangers from a chic restaurant for private trysts; and a Parisian hatmaker named Mathilde leaves her husband for the opium dens of Peru.

Spanning eight books and 922,000 words, the Experiences series challenges perspectives on love, sex, nudity and kink, as the main characters explore a mind-boggling range of fantasies, fetishes, sexual orientations and lifestyles. Deftly weaving philosophical discussion and keen observation of human behaviour with a well-told central romance, it’s a thought-provoking and enjoyable erotic roller-coaster.

The series depicts many aspects of human relationships. In Book 1, Origins of a Fetish, we meet Sam, whose story we’ll follow through the entire 8-book series. Book 2, First Experience, introduces Kelly, while the third and subsequent titles add numerous additional elements to the couple’s developing relationship.

Fantasies and real-world adventures coalesce to mold a unique bond between the unlikely lovers as they set out on their journey of erotic exploration. While being deeply philosophical and graphically erotic, the Experiences series is a story of female empowerment, and a social comment on roles and relationships in modern society. It’s also just damned good reading!

Kinky, sexy, intelligent and perceptive, Blue is both highly-entertaining social satire and red-hot erotica.

Recently-divorced Janet is both fearful and aroused when Jon invites her to join an exclusive club of kinksters by hosting a dinner party in which she’s the entertainment. Well-trained submissives are in short supply in the ‘burbs, and the blue-eyed and eager Janet has the potential to succeed. Before the food is even served, she’s naked on her knees attending to the needs of each guest. So begins Janet’s odyssey into a kinky suburban underground of caterers who were once dominatrices; real estate agents and lawyers by day who make twisted, sexy art by night; and a stunning sadistic insurance analyst who owns a stable of slaves.

Emily Vargas has been taken captive. As part of his conditioning methods, her captor refuses to speak to her, knowing how much she craves human contact. He’s far too beautiful to be a monster. Combined with his lack of violence toward her, this has her walking a fine line at the edge of sanity. Told in the first person from Emily’s perspective, Comfort Food is a tale of erotic surrender that explores what happens when all expectations of pleasure and pain are turned upside down, as whips become comfort and chicken soup becomes punishment.

BDSM for brainiacs: “Scorching-hot, cerebrally sexy, and a geeky blend of steamy romance and smart discourse told in a fresh, new voice.”

Dungeon Dan is disillusioned with the purely physical, while diligent Deb seeks wicked sensuality to complement her rich inner life. When smoking-hot Dan promises desires beyond imagining, how far will Debbie go to fulfil her yearning for excitement? And will she thank him for liberating this new side of her, or resent him pulling the blinders from her eyes?

Thoughtful, wickedly creative, and brimming with metaphor and symbolism, this well-crafted novel uses evocative imagery to weave a lush, intelligent, steamy BDSM tale that’s not for the faint-hearted.

Can unexpected romance free a wealthy recluse from a cage of his own making?

Gareth Renaut, a mysterious investor, lives in isolation after a work accident destroyed the life he had known. When his business partner, Louis, drags him from his woodland oasis into the urban chaos for just one night, he becomes entangled in a web of passion with two unusual women.

Kitty, a flamboyant entrepreneur, and Sky, a wounded addict, vie for the key that might unlock the secrets of this complex man, while they spread their own wings and prepare for flight.